Another year, another visit to China. My excursions to China have become far less regular than they were prior to Covid, moving away from near monthly trips. This makes each journey more intriguing and provides a time to reflect more on each trip. This trip included visits to Shandong University of Science & Technology and Nanchang Hangkong University, but first I spent some time in some of my favourite haunts in Beijing. On the afternoon of my arrival, I went to the Old and New Summer Palaces, as well as Houhai Lake. During the walk, I stopped by Jing-A to reminisce about Friday nights in the past, as well as the new Slow Boat in Liangmaqiao, which did not exist when I lived there.
Following my time in Beijing, I travelled to Jinan to spend five days at Shandong University of Science & Technology. I’d been to Jinan numerous times before, but I tried to make time for activities I had done less often. This includes a full loop around Daming Lake and a walk to the summit of Thousand Buddha Mountain in Qianfoshan National Park. When I reached the top of the mountain, I took the luge down through the park. After a few meetings and sessions, it was offered to Nanchang via Nanjing.
The one-night stop in Nanjing was carefully arranged to not only break up the route but also to allow me to meet up with my friend and colleague, Jun Cui. This allowed us to discuss revisions to the current paper we’re working on as well as potential future projects. After a quick lap around a few landmarks in Nanjing, it was back on the train to Nanchang.
Once in Nanchang there was lots of sights to explore alongside meetings. This included visiting the Tengwang Pavilion, one of the Three Great Towers of Southern China, Bayi Square, and August 1st Nanchang Uprising Memorial Museum. The Uprising Memorial was particularly interesting to visit the former Jiangxi Grand Hotel where the founding of the People’s Liberation Army is considered to have taken place and tour the museum next door to learn about the history. One evening we were able to take a stroll along the Gan River and watch the fountains at Autumn Water Square. Once finished in Nanchang it was off to Shanghai to fly back to London.
Robin Bell 